Cyprus is on track to reach its goal of vaccinating 65% of the adult population with one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine in June, the Health Ministry announced Thursday.
According to a ministry announcement, Cyprus COVID-19 vaccination rollout has covered 57.6% of the population with at least one shot, while 37.9% are fully vaccinated.
The ministry is scrapping the age limitations for booking a COVID-19 vaccine through the online portal.
On Thursday, people aged 18-22 could book a vaccine, with the portal opening for those over 40 until Saturday at 5.30 pm.
It will stay open for a few weeks revisiting the ages 18-39 but then be accessible for everyone over 18.
Health authorities urge people to book their vaccine, as more infectious virus mutations are at Cyprus’ doorstep.
Variants can only be stopped if a large percentage of the population is vaccinated against the virus.
“Already the vaccination rollout in our country is bearing positive results, which are visible and have brought a significant improvement in the epidemiological data in recent weeks.
“Age groups with a higher vaccination percentage record fewer cases, while there is a decrease in the test positivity percentage,” said the ministry.
The positivity rate amongst residents of nursing homes is just 0.1%, while the percentage of older people being admitted with COVID-19 in hospitals has dropped significantly.
“Vaccinated individuals, even with the first dose, if infected, are asymptomatic or show very mild symptoms and, therefore, do not need hospitalization and do not burden the health system”.
It argued the vaccination rollout had brought Cyprus to the point of being able to restart the economy, noting that nightclubs have reopened after 15 months, while children can attend their extra-curriculum activities.
The Health Ministry also said that the improvement of Cyprus’ epidemiological data has seen the European Centre for Disease Control remove the island from its riskier ‘dark red’ zone and reclassify it in the orange one.
“This will bring about various benefits for Cyprus’ economy, starting with the tourism sector.”
According to data, the largest age group vaccinated are people over the age of 40.
Participation percentages range from 62% for people in their 40s to 87.7% for the over 80s.
When it comes to younger people, participation drops to under 40%; only 39.8% of people in their 30s have had a COVID-19 vaccine.
Respectively, younger age groups have higher percentages of daily COVID-19 cases reported.
People under 40 make up 46.4% of new COVID-19 cases reported between 28 May and 4 June. Just 9.4% of cases involved people over 60.
